Teachers join Team Adventure crew for voyage to the Americas

by Keith Taylor on 6 Apr 2001 Cam Lewis, skipper of the 110-foot catamaran Team Adventure, today announced the names of the two schoolteachers who will join his crew for a 'Route of Discovery' transatlantic passage from Spain to the Bahamas.

Janet Bradley, 41, from Hamble, Hampshire, England, and Susan Rieck, 50, from Grafton, Wisconsin, USA, were chosen from amongst hundreds of applicants who sought the job through Monster.com, the leading global online careers site and the
flagship brand of TMP Worldwide.

Monster.com, the major sponsor of Team Adventure, is also sponsoring the participation of the teachers, as Lewis and his crew retrace the course Christopher Columbus took on his voyage to the Americas.

Bradley and Rieck will communicate daily from the big catamaran with students on both sides of the Atlantic, using the ship's satellite communications system to transmit written information and digital photographs via the World Wide Web.

Betsy Alison, hostess of the American cable television show 'Boating Today' and a five-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, is also joining the crew and will write a regular column for the team's web page.

Bradley is an English and Media Studies teacher at Bridgemary Community School, in Gosport, Hampshire. Born and raised in South Africa, she taught in schools in Port Elizabeth before moving to Britain 18 months ago.

A sailor for the last eight years, Bradley sailed extensively in South Africa and has raced keelboats on the South Coast of England and in Ireland.

Rieck has been a school library media specialist for the Milwaukee Public Schools in Milwaukee, WI for the past 16 years and has taught reading to children in grades kindergarten through eight during her 28 year career.

Rieck owns and sails a Dick Newick-designed Val 31 trimaran and has raced and cruised widely, including several offshore delivery voyages crewing on big boats.

'This was a pretty awesome experience,' said Bradley today after a shakedown and crew training sail before the boat sets out from Palma. 'I was surprised by the smoothness of the ride, in these conditions at least. I was expecting something
rougher and noisier. I'm really looking forward to the days ahead.'

Rieck said: 'This is a marvelous machine, an extraordinary ride. This is much bigger than the boats I'm accustomed to sailing in and I am impressed by its acceleration under sail, and its stability. There is also a lot of work attached to sailing this boat. This is what I expected, but it was more than I expected.'



Lewis said: 'We're pleased to welcome these two fine teachers and sailors aboard Team Adventure,' said Lewis. 'It is the mission of Team Adventure to motivate young people to learn and excel, to develop their awareness of the world around them. With this voyage we hope to bring to life for kids the determination and the achievements of Columbus so many years ago.'

Alison has a highly successful track record in a variety of dinghies, one-design keelboats and offshore boats, but this is the first time she has sailed aboard a big oceangoing multihull. 'When Cam Lewis offered me the opportunity to sail
transatlantic, and on the classic Columbus route, I jumped at the chance,' she said. 'This is a boat that is redefining the limits of sailing performance and I'm looking forward to telling its story to readers, web browsers and my television audience.'

The modern tradition of the 'Route of Discovery' was established in 1984 with a sailing race from Spain to San Salvador. Columbus and his three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, had departed Spain in 1492 from Porto.

Skipper Lewis is not looking for any sailing records on this voyage, but he and his crew will be concentrating on Columbus' records. Using extensive documentation of Columbus' voyage, the crew and the guest teachers will emphasize similarities
like basic marlinspike ropework, and startling changes, such as satellite global positioning systems, that have occurred over the intervening 500 years.

Reports from the boat will chronicle the day's events, both then and now. All of this information will be posted on the Team Adventure website and students will be asked to answer questions, plot positions, and develop interactive chat-sessions with the boat.

Team Adventure is a partner in a pair of innovative web sites. www.nationalgeographic.com/teamrace, the web site of the National Geographic Society, is the educational partner in the collaborative venture. The National Public Radio affiliates WBUR in Boston, MA, at www.WBUR.org, and WRNI in Providence, RI, at www.wrni.org, are the exclusive radio media partners.

Monster.com, the leading global online careers site and the flagship brand of TMP Worldwide (NASDAQ: 'TMPW'; ASX: 'TMP'), is the first major sponsor of the team.



For more information on Team Adventure, go to http://www.TeamAdventure.org

or visit the race site at http://www.therace.org. Additionally, individuals wishing to donate to the Team Adventure Education Foundation or corporations looking for sponsorship opportunities should contact Lydia Langston at Lydia@TeamAdventure.org.



FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Keith Taylor Lydia Langston

Taylor Associates Team Adventure

Tel: +1 (781) 837-8833 Tel: +1 (401) 662-1700

KeithTaylor@TeamAdventure.org Lydia@TeamAdventure.org